On The Edge
by gotxbrazen
Summary: Alec is a Runner who lives his life without emotion. He learned from a young age not to let his emotions control his behavior. Now he needs to keep this policy more than ever.
1. NaNoWriMo

NanoWrimo is officially over, and I succesfully completed my 50000 words. However, the story has not yet reached its conclusion. I will continue to work on it until so, however not as frequently as I did during nano. I will add the rest of the story in chapters when I am finished...

Until then, enjoy what you have, a luverly cliff hanger.


	2. Day 19, 11 Days left

On the Edge

Chapter 1

It was a state of mind that plagued many. It took control of you and held you captive. You become a slave, your baser instincts are enabled and there's nothing you can do. You are stuck, without any hope to overcome it. But Alec lived differently. He was free from the things people called emotion. His duties sometimes required him to have no moral backbone at all. And he was okay with that. He preferred it that way, to be honest. He moved freely, unhinged and unchained from the life of the people on the street. In the sky, on the rooftops he was free to be who he wanted. Down there, people scurried around, blind to the internal chaos around them. A second Gilded Age, although disguised and uglier on the inside.

That wasn't his concern though. What _they_ did didn't apply to him; he had no reason to worry about it. He lived for himself, and no one else. When _they_ began to take control, he had escaped. Alec had seen it coming, unlike most. But he didn't try to do anything to stop, once again unlike most. While the people around him who had noticed it started riots, Alec watched silently from the rooftops. And he preferred it that way.

Even now, as he perched on the top of a building, watching the new bullet trains speed by, he was content. He wasn't rich, but he had his health. And more importantly, he had his freedom. Sure, he was still in the city, and absolutely he could escape from it whenever he wanted. But as much as he hated it, he liked this city. He didn't like what it had become but he stuck around, somehow hoping that it might change itself. He stuck around because what he had was working for him, and he didn't want to jeopardize it.

And it's not like he was alone. There were others like him, with the exact same views. He hadn't know about them when he decided to free himself, but they had soon found him. They kept a high priority over the unexplored urban jungle that sprawled across the rooftops of this metropolis. They knew everything that happened there, and somehow more. He wasn't sure how they did it, or who was in charge. But he knew they had his back.

Alec stood and looked around. Living this way opened his eyes; he saw life differently than most people. Obstacles impassable by most became simple things to overcome. He found different ways, paths where most saw nothing. An escape route, if need be, could be found in an instant. A whole new way of thinking came with his lifestyle. But the thinking was the easy part. The hard part came when you actually tried to climb those obstacles.

People called it free running. Alec called it living. Even now as he picked up his foot and began pounding forward, he didn't feel scared. He felt exhilarated, but forced himself not to get over confident with himself. He would never become a slave to his emotions.

He approached a fence, a simple thing to many. It meant STOP, find a gate or don't enter. But to Alec it was nothing. He leaped forward, his hands latching onto the top of the fence. His feet dug into the holes about half way up the fence, and he used his strong arms to hoist himself up and over the top. His legs swung over and he put them under himself, landing on the balls of his feet and carrying on as if nothing had ever happened.

Being a Runner, as the_ they_ called them, was illegal and dangerous. But because it was so dangerous, _they _usually left them alone, in peace. Not being a victim of fear, Alec saw no downfall to living this way.

He quickly approached the edge of the building, another building visible below him. Most people would stop here, but not Alec. We've already established he's different. With a powerful leap, he was flying through the air. A smile brushed across his face as he felt the wind whip past him, felt himself falling downwards towards the hard concrete of the building below him. He watched the ground as it seemed to come up to meet him. He wasn't afraid of the contact either. He felt his feet connect with the ground, and his instinct kicked in. His knees bent to absorb the impact, and he almost immediately sprung forward. He leaned in, and found himself rolling over his shoulder until his feet were back on the ground. He pushed up with his legs and was off in an instant, the huge fall not affecting him in the least.

As Alec ran across the roofs, not sure of where he was taking himself, his peripheral vision spotted a figure approaching. Alec tensed, visibly speeding up his jog as he looked over to see who it was. He relaxed as he spotted the similarly dressed man running to catch up to him. "Noah, didn't expect to see you in these parts." Alec exclaimed, giving a smile to the man. Noah nodded and continued to run alongside Alec.

"Heard you were supposed to be doing a job down here. Finished with my rounds for the day, so I figured I'd drop in."

"Well how kind." Alec said sarcastically. He was supposed to be doing a job, but he had been slacking off. Come to think of it, this seemed to be the one downside to this life.

In this city, information is heavily monitored. The job of the Runners is to deliver this information to their clients. He wasn't concerned with the information he delivered, it wasn't his job to be concerned. He did as little as he could with his job already, so why bother reading it all?

Alec ran alongside Noah for a while before speaking up. "I got a while till I have to be done. How about a race?"

Noah grinned and cocked his head to the side. "First one to the top of that building wins." Noah said. Neither of them were breaking a sweat, both of them were doing just fine. Being a runner gave them much more endurance than all the people down there.

Alec nodded. "Let's do this!" He instantly began sprinting ahead of Noah, who followed suit. They both followed the same path, vaulting over low rails and climbing over high fences. But then Alec spotted a quicker route and stuck his tongue out as he split paths with Noah.

Alec was approaching a high wall. Without hesitating his legs bent and he leapt forward. His feet scrabbled up, shoes gaining traction and carrying him up the vertical wall. His hands found the top of the wall and he used his momentum to carry him up over the top of the wall. He put his feet under him and pushed forward. Below him he spotted Noah running along the rooftop. Alec had an advantage- he was higher than Noah. That would make getting up to the roof top much easier. And to top it off there was a stairway straight to the top.

Taking the stairs, however, would leave him feeling empty. He had a huge lead on Noah and he wanted to fight a more challenging way up to the top. Making his way through the nearby office seemed a good enough of his challenge. It's not like anyone would be in there, anyway. Working day was over. He ran full force into the door, his shoulder jamming into it and knocking it opened. It probably wasn't locked, but it was just more fun that way.

He began running through the sterile white halls off the office, passing cubicles and personalized work spaces, his feet pounding along the cold hard tile. His breath was coming harder now as he continued at a sprinting pace. Pacing himself was something he wasn't very good at. As he rounded a corner an elevator came into his view and he grinned. He had this one in the bag. Friendly competition never heard anyone.

His finger extended and he tapped the button, smiling even wider as the door instantly pinged open. He stepped in and searched the buttons briefly before finding the one labeled "roof" and pressing that. He took the time to catch his breath in the elevator ride, leaning on his knees and breathing heavily.

The numbers went up and up. Somehow this felt like cheating too. But he figured the feel of winning would cover up for that. As he rode, he wondered how long it would take Noah to get up there only to find Alec there, waiting impatiently.

He hated to admit it, but Alec got a little too competitive. He hated loosing. It seemed to

be the only emotion he let control him, but in his life that wasn't exactly a bad thing. It pushed

him to do more, to be better. The elevator dinged and the doors open and he casually walked out.

His grin was dashed as he heard Noah's voice. "Took ya long enough," Noah said with a cocky voice.

Alec turned around to see him perched on top of the exit to the elevator, the smirk of the

winner plastered on his face. "But… how did you…?" Alec stammered. He had been so far ahead, there was no way he could lose!

Noah shrugged and hopped down, popping back up and walking on. "I won, you lost. You should probably get on that job now." Noah suggested, hopping off the edge of the building and running along. Alec sighed, defeated. Nothing left to do, then. Alec shifted the bag he had been carrying and looked around to get his bearings. His client was actually pretty close. He took a breath and began running again.

The sun cast a pleasing glow over his world. The cold stone and concrete of the sterile city. It had become normal, the stark contrast of bright colors misplacing the ordinary white- the brighter the more important the building. He grew up down there, on the streets, but now he was living his life high above them. He didn't feel more important than everyone living their lives in relative peace. However, he certainly wasn't jealous of their boring routine. Every day up here was different. You could never guess what was coming next.

Up a wall, vault over this, jump across that. It never got old for him. He could do this the rest of his life, if he was allowed to. He loved living life on the edge.

It only took one accident. One accident and you could be down for the rest of your life. One accident could END your life. Alec was silently thankful this had done neither, it simply left him with an aching ankle. He had misjudged the distance between his jump, a stupid mistake really. He landed awkwardly and had ended up rolling into a cooling unit on the roof.

As he stood he pulled his pants up to inspect his ankle. It was already swelling a bit. Thank god the drop off point was just ahead. The sun was setting now, and he had been able to deliver the bag in time. He walked over, lifted a piece covering a fan. It was loose, just how his client had said it would be. He placed the bag in there and covered it back up, ready to leave as quickly as he had come.

But as he tried to walk on the injured ankle, he realized he would not be able to take the same route back. He was quite far away from the abandoned place he called home. He would have to take the path to his home on the streets.

Walking the streets was always a gamble. Down there were police, and he didn't look like the rest one bit. People down there wore business suits and Sunday gowns. Alec wore what he could move best in, and it wasn't in good condition. He was scratched up, bruised, his hair was unkempt. They could recognize him in an instant.

In other words, no way was he walking down on the street. He growled angrily to himself. This might put him out for a couple days if he wasn't careful about it. He couldn't put too much strain on it, or it would become worse. He knew from experience the consequences of pushing yourself too hard.

The sun had dipped behind the lower buildings on the west Horizon, yet the city glowed with artificial lights. Windows lit up by the interior lighting of offices shown in the distance, making a pretty picture Alec had come to appreciate. He limped over to a somewhat hidden nook in the building and sat down, leaning against the wall and staring out over the city.

Down below cars travelled still. It was time for the world to sleep, yet everyone seemed to defy that. The business men always had something to do. When did they sleep? When did they find time to do what they wanted? In this age it all came down to money, the best looking and the smartest got it all.

He scoffed and leaned his head back, staring up at the night sky. The lights from the city cast an everlasting glow, tinting the sky the darkest orange. The lights and the pollution cast out the stars, so Alec stared up into the pure, starless sky. He couldn't make out the clouds either.

Despite all this, it seemed like home to Alec. It didn't bother him, as it did the Rioters. He didn't mind it, like his parents.

At the thought of his parents he visibly cringed. He had escaped them too. They had been doing right, in their eyes, but they were forcing their views down his throat. It wasn't bad things, but it wasn't what he wanted. He wished he could just live. The constant controlling by his parents, overbearing by the one hundred percent control the city had on everyone taking residence- it became too much. He had left one night, disappeared without a trace. He hadn't taken anything, otherwise that would defeat the purpose of escaping.

He had done fine. He made a living as a criminal, and he was good at it. Had to be. Criminals in this city had a way of never being heard of once they were caught. Recently, however, being a criminal was a death sentence.

PK scum had infiltrated the city, incorporating their security system into every home and office building in the city, whether you wanted it or not. And they came with their own police force. You couldn't round a corner without seeing a PK Blue, packing heat and watching over the citizens as they continued their drab life.

They had been a nuisance recently, sending runners scattering. They apparently weren't too pleased with their little organization. A new dawn was coming, a dawn where runners no longer had to worry about falling- they had to watch out for bullets too. Alec sighed and hung his head low. At least here, hidden now by himself, he felt content.

It was times when he was alone he felt most like himself. He felt like he was betraying himself whenever he did work for the Runners, whenever he helped another runner. He had vowed to live life for himself, and only him. Noah... he was different some how. He was the only human Alec felt comfortable around. A different side of Alec shone when he was around the blue haired runner.

He sighed and tried to make himself comfortable, as comfortable as you can be on hard, slightly damp concrete. Down in the street below he could faintly hear the drums and guitar of a small scale concert being held in one of the many concrete "parks" the city had recently ordained. They were as sterile and white as the rest of the city, not a single sign of nature to be found.

The busy sound of the city was enough to lull him into security, and his mind he didn't necessarily feel it was false. Nothing could get him up here. He felt the drowsiness enclose on him and his eyes closed. The sounds surrounded him as he drifted off into unconsciousness that was sleep.

Chapter 2

Alec woke up suddenly, his body tensing. He looked around and noticed the roofed area he had familiarized himself with the previous night. He shook the drowsy itchiness from his eyes and stood shakily, placing weight on his injured foot. No pain.

He grinned and began to walk out from the shaded area. The sun instantly threw daggers into his eyes, reflecting off the shininess of the clean, perfect city. He shielded his eyes and looked around. Nearby he saw the familiar spinning logo of PK security central building. They were the ones who sent the city into this downward spiral. He sighed and shrugged. Nothing he could do about it.

His feet began to move on his own, and suddenly the landscape began to rush past him. His eyes focused on what was ahead of him and he tuned all else out. Back to doing what he loved doing. But life could never be that easy.

"Stay where you are! You are in direct violation..." Alec cursed audibly, staring up at the helicopter hovering over him. He had heard that speech too many times before. What came next was always predictable. Alec picked up speed.

He didn't listen to anything else the helicopter said from then on- his only priority was escape. Escape or be shot. The gunshots ran out a second later. He saw the sparks of the gun as they grated across a steel structure ahead of him. He ran even faster.

He was startled by the sudden voice in his head. "Hey, Alec."

Alec looked around and then realized something had been placed in his ear overnight. "Uh... hello?" Alec asked curiously, his breath coming harder.

"Loud and clear buddy. You're gonna have to listen carefully if you want any chance of living."

"Who the... hell are you?" He asked, pausing as he climbed over a fence. He moved his feet just in time to avoid a barrage of bullets piercing his skin.

"Name's Calc. We ain't got time for introductions. There are more of 'em heading your way."

"Shit! What do i do?" He asked with urgency. He could see them gathering on the street. What the hell had he done?

"Kay, getting your coordinates..." Alec was left alone again as he ran. He looked around for any kind of salvation. "Got it. Kay there's a subway station nearly directly under you. Can you find a way to get down on the street?" Calc directed in his ear. It was kind of weird, hearing him directly in his ear.

"Hell no!" Alec shouted. "I hate the street!" The helicopter had been left behind, unable to maneuver between the two close together skyscrapers.

The voice on the other end was silent as Alec quickly approached the end of this building. "It's your funeral Alec." Alec cursed and sat a resolve to get down to the street. Anything to survive, right?

Alec spotted a fire exit extending all the way down to an alleyway none of the pedestrians seemed to be taking. He spotted the across the street connecting to the alley. "Got it, Calc." Alec confirmed. He took a sudden left and climbed up a wall to get better distance in his jump. His legs pumped harder and his feet were connecting harder on the ground, his whole body gaining speed. He could hear the SWAT team "moving out" as directed, saw the bullets just barely missing him and connecting with the building ahead. It was a miracle they had all missed.

His foot stepped on the very edge of the building and suddenly he was flying through the air, his eyes focused entirely on the fire escape- his only escape. He braced himself for the inevitable impact. He curled his body to avoid hitting the upper story, landing a couple flights down the stairs. His heart thumped as the whole apparatus shook dangerously.

The fire escape hadn't been in useable shape for a while it seemed. He looked back up to the roof and spotted the silhouettes of men with big guns. Were they going to shoot him? He felt the fire escape shake more, felt it shift down. They were shooting the thing that held it to the building!

Alec cursed and began to run full speed down the stairs, jumping flights at a time. He was nowhere near the bottom, and the whole thing was swaying, hanging precariously to the top of the building. Suddenly there was a jarring sound of scraping metal against concrete, and he was jolted off his feet. The whole fire escape was now swinging over the alley. It connected with the next building over and sent him rolling into the railing, which squeaked its protest.

Alec stood to his feet and looked down, judging the distance. He couldn't afford to judge wrong this time- there would be no chance to recover from this if he was injured. He would disappear, for good. "You got this kid!" Calc supported him remotely. Just jump... Jump...

The gunfire continues to ring out, Alec grips the edge of the rail and swings himself over, hesitating slightly. He suddenly feels the fire escape creak one last time before falling down to the hard ground of the alley way. Alec let out a yelp of surprise and then pushed off the edge as the whole thing fell.

Alec looked down and was surprised to see the ground much more close than he expected. He wasn't prepared for the shock of the impact through his legs. His knees bent and he let out a pained grunt. His whole body lunged forward, the momentum bringing his shoulder full force into the ground.

He felt his shoulder scream in protest, and felt his bone dislocate from its socket. The doors to the alley behind him swung open and he turned around to see men readying their guns, all ready to shoot at him. They weren't aiming to incapacitate and arrest him- they were aiming to kill.

But why? What had he been doing to get their attention? He cursed their timing and forced himself to his feet. He couldn't move his arm. Every time he did, he felt the bones scraping against things they shouldn't, even heard the horrible sound of bone scraping against bone.

Cars speed by on the road ahead of him. He could see the entry to the subway ahead of him on the other side of the highway. "Shit!" Alec screamed. Bullets began to fly out. He had no other option. He began to run forward awkwardly, trying to keep his left arm as still as possible to avoid unnecessary pain.

There was a break in the cars just as he began to run through the street. He didn't risk turning to see if there were cars coming. If he hesitated he was done for. He had been lucky when he hesitated back on the fire escape, but that luck wouldn't last.

He ran as fast as he thought he could across the busy street. He heard the screeching noise of cars slamming on their brakes. He could hear cars swerving into the guard that was the border of the highway, scraping against metal.

Alec vaulted over the rail in the center of the highway and was forced to cross the highway headed in the opposite direction. His eyes went wide as a car swerved in front of him, flying right into a building. A terrible sound berated his ears as the metal scrunched up. Alec almost stopped, but realized traffic was still zooming by. He placed his hands on the top of the car and his legs pushed up, swinging through between his arms.

He pushed himself off the car and continued down into the subway. The bullets had ceased for now. Calc blared in his ear suddenly. "Take the train, Alec!" Alec nodded, shoving through the crowd. People started whispering, he could hear the word spreading. "…runner! Look, do you think the cops are chasing him?"

Alec swung himself over the turnstiles and saw the doors ahead of him closing. His speed picked up, much faster than he was comfortable with. He dove head first through the doors, feeling his foot brushed on either side by the automatic doors. He rolled to safety and stood up on the other side of the train.

People around him started murmuring, giving the outlaw plenty of space. Alec sneered at all of them, silently pleased at the fear he caused them, the disruption he had done to their every-day routine.

He spoke quietly. "What now, Calc?" There was a silence in his ear before the buzz came.

"Blues riding your ass… Think they're going to," Calc was cut off though as Alec was suddenly thrown forward, along with every other passenger on the train. The breaks on the train had been applied- a security measure installed on every bullet train just for this occasion.  
"Get the hell outta there, anyway you can!" Calc barked. Alec looked around after standing to his feet, wincing at his shoulder. He held the arm still with his other hand. His eyes darted around and he spotted a vent above his head. He jumped up, his free hand pounding the vent. It broke free easily and he tried to figure out how he was going to do this with his injured shoulder.

He jumps up, his one hand latching on to the edge of the opening. It seemed just big enough from him to pull his body through. He tried to pull himself up using one arm. His muscles bulged as he lifted himself off the ground a couple feet.

He strained with the effort of it, and ended up falling back to the ground, breathing. His arm hurt a bit, and his shoulder hurt even more. He panicked and looked for any other way out. He tried the doors, but they were sealed tight. People around him continued to murmur and point at him, fearing for their lives.

He looked at the windows and figured they were probably bullet proof. What to do…? "Alec, what are you doing man? Get outta there!" Alec growled out loud, causing a small girl to scream.

"There's no way out!" He responded, not caring if other people thought he was weirder for talking to himself. They already thought he was going to kill them all.

"Find a way, do what you need to do!" That was a load of help, Alec rolled his eyes. He gripped his arm and tried to re-locate his shoulder. He felt the bones scraping against each other again. He bit his lower lip to stop from screaming, then just abandoned it and let out his pain as the shoulder finally popped back into place.

It was the first time he had dislocated his shoulder, and it was not pleasant in the least. He tried to rotate his arm. It was still slightly sore, but most of the pain had gone. He heard the swat team moving through the tunnel. Suddenly the doors opened in the train- But Alec was busy pulling himself through the hole in the ceiling.

By the time they got in, all they saw was a pair of legs as they began to pull up to the top of the train. Alec looked down into the train and saw the SWAT people swarming. The one that had spotted Alec aimed up through the hole and Alec backed up, pleased with himself. He stretched his shoulder a bit and then looked around.

The ceiling was low in the tunnel, and it was nearly pitch black. Light streamed in through the cabin of the train and illuminated a couple feet around him. "Great, Calc, now what?" Alec asked impatiently.

"The wall behind you, look up. You're gonna have to crawl through that vent." Alec looked behind him and saw the vent. It was tiny, and he had a small problem with small spaces. But they would be up here in no time, there was not finding a better solution. And at least Calc sounded like he knew what he was doing.

He jumped put his head into the vent and lifted his knees. It was just high enough for him to get on his hands and knees and start climbing through. "You're doing great, Alec, just keep on." Calc was there to support him, and despite he wasn't there to save him if he needed to be, the constant voice gave him security.

He heard the Blues fire vainly into the air vent- he was too far in to be hit. Alec tensed when he noticed the vent getting smaller. He was feeling increasingly panicked. Soon it would be too small for him to back out, and too small too continue. He stopped. "Calc?"

"Yeah?" Calc responded after a few seconds.

"I don't think I can make it through. I think it gets smaller."

"There's an exit just a little bit ahead, you can do this. Blue got the place surrounded, it's the only way."

Alec sucked it up and pushed on. He wasn't scared- he was just being rational. It'd be pointless to get stuck in this vent. At least that's what he told himself. In reality he could feel the creepiness of the situation settling in his gut.

He almost showed how relieved he was once he found the exit Calc had mentioned. It was a straight drop down, and the only way was through a head dive. He lunged forward, spotting the floor only about 5 feet down. He landed on his bad shoulder and let out a hiss as he continued through a safety roll, standing up and orienting himself quickly.

"There should be an elevator down the hall. Use it to get as high as you can go."

Alec responded with a quick "Yessir," and began to run through the office. He noticed, unfortunately, that it wasn't empty. People stared on with wide eyes. They all knew what he was, and they all knew to keep their mouth shut or die. He loved having this power over them.

He found the elevator and shoved a young man about to board out of the way. Once he was in, everyone rushed to get out, and no one else bothered to get in. He pushed the top button, noticing it would take him all the way up to the 30th floor. "I can make it to the thirtieth."

"Great. The roof is only 2 stories from the 30th. The other two floors seem to be executive offices and conference rooms."

Alec wondered briefly how Calc knew all this, pondered over it even as the lift began to take him to his destination. But he had no time, as the doors began to open. He walked out and looked around, noticing this floor was rather empty.

"Got the building plan… looks like they don't want you to get up to the top two floors, or on the roof. Got something on the chatter. The blues are headed this way, got calls from the people in the building."

Alec rolled his eyes. "Well that's great, Calc, what am I supposed to do about it?" He stood in front of the elevator, looking around. Inside buildings, offices, he was cramped. He couldn't run like he normally could. He just wanted to get out.

"I see only one way up- you game?" Calc asked seriously. Alec could guess what it was. "Climb up the side of the building, right?"

"Yup. The building has ledges this high up, just barely wide enough to walk on. You gotta be careful though, one slip and you're done for."

That didn't faze Alec. He was Already jogging through the empty halls trying to find a way to get on the outside. He found a door carelessly left open that led to a balcony. He walked out and slowly leaned over the edge of the rail, staring his way down 30 flights.

He could see the cars driving by, oblivious to the chaos below. He could also see the 10 or 12 SWAT vans pulling up beside the building. Now or never.

Back in the hall he heard the elevator ding, resonating throughout the quiet floor. He hopped up on the somewhat wide rail, then stood up straight, balancing on it with both feet. He stared down beside him. If his foot slipped he would be dead, for sure.

But he didn't care. He hadn't felt fear since he had escaped, why bother now? He looked up above him, spotting the roof that covered the balcony. He bent his legs slightly and hopped up, his hands gripping tightly.

He muscled himself up, swinging his legs over the side and rolling onto the roof completely before standing up again and looking up to the top. Too high to just climb or jump up. He looked to his side all the way to where the building rounded a corner, not seeing anything that might help him climb up. He doubted there was enough room to pull himself to standing position on the ledge above.

He looked to his other side and saw nothing there either. He had to take a chance, or die. He chose the side he was closer to the corner to and put his back against the wall, side stepping slowly across the narrow ledge, hands stuck to the wall behind his back. He began to progress slowly.

"Be careful, kid." Calc said quietly in his ear. Alec was concentrating too hard and not falling. He felt his hand slight against the glass of a window, and for a moment pondered trying to break it to get in. Then he figured it was probably break-proof to stop people from falling off the 31st floor, and the shock of it pushing him back might send him off the ledge. So he continued.

The corner was approaching slowly. He turned back towards the balcony and saw the men inside the building searching for him. By the time one thought to look out the balcony, Alec had reached the corner.

The SWAT member clicked his radio as he spotted the man making his escape and soon the small balcony would be flooded with Blues aiming to kill him. Alec was determined to survive. He placed a foot around the corner, feeling himself fall forward slightly.

His hands dug into the corner tightly to stop himself from losing balance. His foot slid sideways some more. His body rounded the corner just as the bullets began to fly. A bullet connected with the building just above his head, sending rubble down on him. He winced a bit, and felt the chunks of concrete get in between his hands and the small grip the corner offered. He felt his grip slip.

He wasn't sure what had happened- he felt himself falling forward, his vision watched the street appear; until now he hadn't bothered to look down. He reacted quickly, kicking his leg sideways, the momentum swinging him around 180 degrees. He extended his hands and felt them slap on the ledge he was standing on but moments ago, and he instantly closes his hands, gripping tight. He had made it around the corner at least.

But now he was dangling 30 stories in the air, no safety beneath him. He looked all the way at the other end of the building and it was like an angel. A pipe extending a couple stories down, and all the way to the roof of the building. All he had to do was make it to that pipe, without falling or getting shot.

"Jesus, Alec, don't scare me like that!" Calc shouted in his ear.

"I can do this, Calc." Alec says, determined to make it. He began to shimmy sideways across the building, making good time. His arms began to ache from holding his weight. "Just a little more!" He chanted to himself.

He paused and felt just how much strain he was putting on his arm, and his still sore shoulder. He wondered if his shoulder would dislocate again from holding his weight. He placed his hand out and pulled his other hand in, resolute to make it to the pipe.

A couple feet away from it he gripped it with his close hand and lunged, hoping to god the thing would hold his weight. It did, and he began to climb up the wide pipe, his gloves offering good grip.

His feet slid up to prepare to push him higher. Now he was here he was safe. He would make it to the top of the building. But who knew what waited for him there?

His view popped up over the side of the building for a short moment- Barren, empty. He then pulled himself up, with a bit too much effort. His arms were burning from lactic build up.

"I made it Calc." Alec said, shaking slightly from the adrenaline pumping through him. He wanted to run now, just run without a destination. But Calc had a different plan.

"Great. Look to your left. There should be a building in construction. Do you see it?"

"Ya, all the way out there! You telling me I need to go there?"

"Well… Yes." Calc said. Alec grumbled. He began running. It was a long ways away, and the Blues were close by. He spotted something, a gift from the heavens. A Runner set up, a long steel cable attached to the building below.

These had been installed by the first runners as a useful way to get from building to building. His gloved hands gripped the cable and he lifted his legs. He suddenly felt himself sliding down, the city rushing by as he rode the rope down to the building. His feet were above the ground and he let go, his momentum continuing him forward. There was no way the Blues could catch up to him now.

He began to run across the building skillfully, pacing himself so that he wouldn't soon run out of energy, but also so that he would make good time. Alec turned sharp right and continued on, hands slapping on a wide ledge as he jumped over it, swinging his legs between his arms and landing on his feet.

After running a bit more he neared the edge of the building, so he jumped towards the wall of a small shack and pulled himself up. He figured he could jump that far if he had more speed, but the shack was pretty small. He figured he could find an alternative from this vantage point though.

"How ya doin, Alec?" Calc asked him. Alec growled, trying to concentrate and having that concentration broken.

"Good! Just, lemme think here…" Alec responded grumpily. He'd have to take a detour on the building to the left. He jumped back down from the shack, landing a bit too hard. A shock was sent up his legs. His fatigue was affecting his skill. He hoped he wouldn't have to run around for too much longer.

He ran around a bend and found himself faced with an impassable building that extended into the clouds. He was forced to make a literal U-turn, now facing the building he wasn't able to get to before. "Too perfect," Alec said to himself quietly. Running sideways, he pulled himself up over a fence and pushed on.

Ahead of him he saw an extremely tall wall with a ladder hanging off the side. The ladder was rusted and stopped about half way up the wall. It looked like it led to an abandoned water collecting system.

That was probably installed back before the government could control the weather. His feet pushed him forward and he took a single step then leaped upward. His hands stretched out and prepared to grip onto the rungs of the ladder.

He couldn't have cut it any closer his grabbed onto the last secure looking rung and then pulled himself up the ladder until his feet were supported by the ladder. He then climbed quickly and swung his legs over the edge instead of climbing the rest of the way.

He was indeed in a large pool-like thing with a drain in the middle. He ran through it and up the other side, feet slipping on the steep and slick side. He gripped the top and then got better traction, then dropped down onto the ground below and rolling over his shoulder to absorb the impact.

Alec turned to his left and continued running. He jumped over a small gap between two buildings at the same height and then slid under a high bar, getting to his feet and gaining speed again, soon reaching cruising speed. "Calc… Where exactly am I going?" He asked through pants.

"Too nosy for your own good. Just follow directions, okay?" Alec was surprised at his sudden aggressiveness. "For now, you're headed to that construction site, so just do as you're told. You ain't out of danger yet."

Alec took in a deep breath to let it out in a sigh, pushing himself further. He doesn't remember ever running this hard or this long in his life. He had nearly died so many times today, and though he lived every day with the chance of dying it came as a bit of a shock that now people were trying to kill him.

Alec ran forward, finding himself in between two tall structures headed towards a dead end. He run diagonal at the wall on his left, planted his left food on the wall and kicked off, bouncing towards the right wall and without hesitating pushing back towards the left, spinning his body so that he could grab the top of the wall. He muscled himself up and then paused for only a slight second.

That was all it took though. After stopping he felt the full affects of his running on his body. His arm was terribly sore, more specifically where his shoulder had been dislocated, his legs burned from the effort of running and his head swum, clouded by the adrenaline still coursing through him.

Alec almost wanted to give up but took a deep breath and willed himself to continue. He wasn't a quitter, no matter what. Alec jumped from the small rooftop onto a large billboard spewing political propaganda. He didn't care what was on it really. He was more focused on balancing on top of the thin billboard.

He walked over to the edge and swayed for a second before finding enough balance to mish himself in a sideways hop over into a cat as he grabbed the wall and pulled himself up. He could see the construction site just ahead of him. He was real close.

He ran to his right for a while, thankfully not finding anything more obtrusive than a small rail to hop over, and a single fence that he had to climb. Soon he reached the large red crates that held some of the machinery. He jumped up and his shoes grappled for traction as he pulled himself to the top of those, now giving him a chance to overlook the construction.

"Great Job Alec, I'm kinda busy over here. Listen to everything Ariz tells ya to do." With that Calc buzzes out. Alec can hear the line close. He wonders if he should take the earpiece out or leave it in. It didn't really bother him, but it would be pointless to keep in if no one was going to speaking to him.

And, furthermore, shouldn't he be thinking about who Ariz is?

"Calc sent you, didn't he?" A voice from behind him projected. Her voice seemed to pierce his ears, a slightly grating gruff to it, and an overall loudness that made it seem like she was yelling when she really wasn't.

Alec turned around with a nod. "Yeah, I guess." He said quickly. He spotted her, somehow behind him. Had she been following him? Or had she just managed to sneak up on him like that? He was pretty tired, so it must've been easy for her.

"I'm Ariz, nice to meet you." She didn't sound very pleased to meet him though, and didn't offer her hand to shake or any of that formal stuff found back in civilization. Made sense though. Why adhere to society as an outlaw?

The girl was tough and yet strangely exotic. Her skin was pigmented an oddly grey, almost sick looking. Strange, because the constant UV rays these days weren't blocked out by a thick Ozone layer, and up here the light was reflected from the thousand panes of glass and the white, all-color reflecting concrete that made up this land. For anyone to be that pale was strange.

She wore rather tight, dark black pants, which made him stop and wonder how she moved around in them easily. The pants hung loosely on her hips, and there were various useless chains dangling off of them. There was a utility belt strapped around her waist that had a strap for a gun, but that was empty.

Her chest was covered with a similarly colored top, sleeves tight and just slightly past her elbow. It swayed loosely on her torso and showed off a bit too much skin for Alec's taste. The choice of clothes walked the fine line of flashy and practicality, but whatever it did, it seemed to work for Ariz.

She cocked her head. "You just gonna stand there all day ogling me, you perv?" She said. Her brashness certainly did not deceive her looks.

"Your fault for dressing like that. How do you run in those clothes anyway?" He had to ask, but he feigned uninterest.

"Nah, I got used to it after a while. But enough about me. You look pretty tired. Been running too much?"

Alec opened his mouth to say something about nearly getting shot fifty times, almost falling 30 stories to his death and running for 30 minutes straight, but closed his mouth instead. He wanted to keep some dignity in this girl who seemed to be searching for any flaws.

"You would be too if you'd been through what I have."

"If I… HAH!" She chuckled loudly, her arms wrapping around her chest comically. "What you've been through is only the tip of the iceberg, nooblet!" she teased him.

Alec shrugged. "Whatever." He kept a stone face the whole time.

"Huh? Not even a reaction. Interesting…" she said sarcastically. "Well then, Alec. I guess you'd like some answers, huh?"

"Actually yeah, some answers would be nice here." He said rudely.

"Well too bad! You don't get any yet. You're just supposed to follow blindly like a stray dog, hoping we aren't leading you further into the spider's web."

She sounded creepy and spoke fluently, the words coming easy to her. Alec didn't care. "If you weren't going to give me answers, why bother offering."

Ariz seemed taken back by his stone cold response. "Uh well…" Alec let out a smirk at his small victory and turned around, sitting on the edge of the container overlooking the city. The sun by now was hanging over them, high noon position. It bore down on his neck, the heat reflecting and heating him up even more.

It could get pretty hot, which is why he chose practical clothes, white and light. This girl was wearing pitch black. How did she live with all that heat? Ariz sighed.

"Listen, Alec. Enough teasing. This is serious. For some reason or other, the Blues are after you. I'm not sure why myself. All I'm doing is following Calc's orders. You should be lucky, actually, that we found out about this. Most nooblets never even learn about the inner circle of runners."

"Inner circle?" Alec asked curiously.

"Yeah. We're the overseers, the high ranks if you will. We give the lowers their jobs, and we all have these," she tapped to her ear piece, "to save us whenever we're in a sticky situation. My guess is you wouldn't be alive if it weren't for Calc."

"And this inner circle, Calc, all this- Why was I accepted?"

"Accepted? You haven't proven yourself well enough to be accepted. We're just saving your ass until all this is resolved. Don't flatter yourself hun, you've got a long way to go." She said, slightly teasing. She was flaunting her position over him, a position he shouldn't even know about.

"So this means… Calc is the head of this all?"

"Not really- Just the head of the division in this area of the city. Even I don't know the person in charge of all of this; the Heads are sworn to secrecy. A little secret, I don't even think they know who it is. It could be one person, could be a couple, could be a hundred. I do know it has to be someone on the inside."

Alec nodded. It made sense, now that he thought about it. "So where do we go from here?"

"You need to lay low for a couple of days. In fact, all Runners will have to. Jobs have stopped being handed out, Runners are contacted by higher ups and told to lay low, hide for a few days. The blues ain't playing nice." She said, taking a seat next to Alec.

"Ariz."

"Hmm?"

"You're too close." He pushed her away and she scowled.

"Geeze, loosen up guy." The two sat for a while, Alec using the chance to catch his breath. It had been a rather eventful day for him. He had nearly died several times. And he didn't care. He had loved it, actually. No day was the same on these roofs, and that's what he loved about living up here.

Chapter 3

Alec was the first to stand. Ariz quickly followed. "So laying low- what does this entitle?"

"the usualy, stay hidden, don't go out for extended periods. Oh, and no Running." She added casually.

Alec visibly flinched at that. "But that's all I have up here, running."

"That's about what we all have. Not much up here. We're all suffering," she offered supportively.

"Fine. But where am I to stay?" Ariz looked thoughtful at this.

"Meh. Not my problem." She said cheerfully. "Just don't get caught, and keep that in your ear. I'll be around again tomorrow, sometime at night. Good luck!" She said with an overly cheerful smile and wave as she began to run off.

Alec resisted the urge to call out to her, to seek a little more assistance. She hadn't really done much, although he now realized this was serious. I guess Calc needed him to be in the dark, at least for now. Maybe, eventually he might learn a little more about the situation he was in.

Alec looked around the construction site and shrugged. "What do I do now?" He couldn't run, he was tired and hurting, and he'd be alone for the next 12 or more hours. He needed to find some place to settle down for a while, and he doubted he would find it here. The construction workers would be back soon.

He wondered, for a slightly brief second, if he could try going back to civilization for the meantime. That idea was dismissed as quick as it had come, and he was focused now on finding a place to hide. He felt vulnerable in the open like this, where anything could find him.

He could go to the outskirts of town; that wouldn't work. Any helicopter flying over would spot him there, skyscrapers were nonexistent and it was mostly wide open space. No, the tall buildings and hidden back alleys, some of them created by a small building between two large ones, offered security and a place to hide.

Whatever he did, standing around here wasn't going to help. He had no choice but to run. Hopefully he wouldn't have to run too far though. His normal hide out was anything but close.

Alec had napped the time away in a stone courtyard created by a several towers stretching to the sky. The sun had been blocked out by the buildings, allowing his tired eyes to close and his body to slowly patch the strenuous activities of the previous days. He felt safe in this area, the buildings had no windows facing this side and any helicopter wouldn't be able to look into the small recess unless someone was specifically told to look here.

So he napped. He had found a couple empty cardboard boxes and layed them on the concrete. He felt like a homeless person. He chuckled to himself. Such an old image- a person without a home, sleeping on the street. He'd only heard tales of stuff like that actually happening.

He recalled a time with his parents, when they had grown so miffed with his rebellion that they threatened to turn him into a homeless, throw him onto the streets. After growing up he had found out the truth- anyone found living on the streets or panhandling was taken to a "State Home" which were synonymous with prison.

He rolled over on his makeshift bed, eyes still closed. He hadn't known how much time passed. He slightly recalled the dream he had- remembering a flowing river of green toxic waste. That was it though, and as he sat up that part was buried too, and he had forgotten about the dream entirely.

Alec opened his mouth to let out a long yawn. He hadn't slept that good in a long time. He almost hurt something as he jumped to his feet at the sound of a shuffle nearby. His head swung to each corner, inspecting for what caused the sound. "Who's there!" He asked quietly.

"Hey hey now… No need to get so freaked out. Just waiting till you woke up."

"Noah?" Alec turned around and saw the man sitting down, leaning against the wall. "How long…?" Alec asked curiously.

"A while. I came back from a job and here you are sleeping in my bed. Just a little odd." Noah grinned.

"You're bed? Oh! This must be your hide out."

"It's pretty great, isn't it. Found it not too long ago. No one else seems to know about it, except you of course."

"I was kinda looking for something actually… didn't know you would be this far out. You're always around where I stakeout. What's up with that? You run all the way there each day?"

"No, actually. I do it in periods. I'll work on the east district for a while, come here to the central and work down here." Noah enjoyed his job. He felt like with every bit of information he was helping bring down the government a peg, which would eventually lead to it crumbling and the people taking over, like it used to be. Alec never had the heart to tell him the information was usually just about drug deals or robberies.

"Anyway, you okay dude? Some shit's about to go down. The blues are pissy. Their looking for someone, is what I head. One specific runner.

Alec tensed, but hid his nervousness. "I see. Do you know who it is?"

"Not a clue. It's a wonder they haven't caught him yet."

"Do you know anything about why the blues are after him?"

"I don't know, honestly. I keep asking around but no one seems to know much about it. Most don't even know about it, and were just told to lay low. Maybe it's just a rumour." Noah speculated.

Alec wondered for a moment if it was him they were after. He stopped to think what they might want out of him. It didn't make any sense. He hadn't bothered them, he wasn't a problem- he had no goal of eliminating the government, no plans to assassinate the mayor. Why him? Hell, maybe it wasn't him. Maybe he looked like someone else and they just thought it was him.

He stood and stretched. "Whatever. You don't mind if I stay here, do ya?" Alec asked.

Noah rolled his eyes. "Do you have to ask? I don't know what you're doing down here, but we all obviously have to lay low. It wouldn't be smart for you to run all the way back to where you normally stay. You kinda have to stay here."

"I figured. Great, stuck here all day with you." He jabbed at Noah, trying to make a joke, but the tone of his voice wasn't right.

"You trying to be funny is in itself hilarious." Noah said with a grin on his face. Alec shrugged.

"Try something before you knock it, right?" He tried again but ended up being awkward once more.

"Just stop." Noah said, the smile not on his face anymore. "Serisouly… What if they're looking for me?" Noah said with a somber tone. Alec wanted to say something to comfort his friend, but then he realized that if Noah knew they had been chasing him today, that it was probably him the Blues were after, then Noah would distance himself from Alec. And right now he needed support.

"I don't think it's you. If it were you'd be on the run for your life right now, right?"

"I suppose…" He said, not at all convinced. Alec shrugged.

"If it is you, you'll be fine right here, won't you?"

Noah looked around. "Yeah. But I hate being cooped up. I can't spend all day just laying here. I've got to get food somehow, and I've got all this extra energy I'll have to run off." He said, sounding too wound up.

"Dude, relax." Alec said, staring up at the sky and at the clouds. Just then he heard a police siren nearby whir into life. He heard helicopters flying closer.

Noah started to freak. He was on his feet and scurrying around, staring daggers at Noah. "Shitshitshitshitshit…" Alec ignored his friend's freakout and was searching for an escape. Unfortnately he hadn't planned on needing to escape quickly, and the only way out seemed to be the way he came in. And he could hear the police swarming that exit.

Noah turned and gripped Alec's shoulders. "We're screwed! I knew it was me they were looking for!" His eyes were wide and bloodshot.

"What reason would they have to be chasing you!" Alec said a bit too loud. At that question Noah seemed to reel back.

"We gotta get outta here." Noah purposefully avoided answering the question and Alec couldn't help but sense something fishy was up.

"Yo Alec. A single blue headed your way. Where are you?" Alec tensed at the sudden voice in his ear. It was Calc. He didn't respond, for obvious reasons. "Noah's with you too? Shit. Thought Ariz told you to hide!"

Alec wanted to scream he did hide. He had hidden very well, actually. He considered it to be well anyway. How had they found him? Shit. "Think hard. Is there any other way out of this place?" Alec asked, staring intently at Noah. He was on the verge of tears.

"Uhmm… Up there." Noah pointed to an unreachable ledge surrounded by a rail. It looked like it could possibly be a balcony, with a door leading inside. From the poor vantage point neither could see a door, and it seemed virtually unreachable. It was at least ten stories above them.

"Thanks, that's a lot of help." Alec said sarcastically. He was starting to freak out himself. It wouldn't be long before the Blues found their way up here. They'd start by setting up a blockade at the entrance.

"Wait! That's it! Just run!" Alec screamed, bolting for the exit. Noah didn't follow at first. "Hurry! There's only one Blue down there right now, we can deal with one! It's not PK scum, but pretty soon it will be swarming. We have to leave now!"

Noah wanted to stop to ask how he knew this, but realized he was right. They needed time to escape, and pretty soon there would be too many Blues and PK security SWAT to be able to do that. Noah followed, close on Alec's heals. They both dropped down the overly large stairway used to get up here, both seeing the single cop car parked awkwardly in the ally. Another had just pulled in as they got street level.

The blue was halfway in the car, talking on the radio, when he spotted the two Runners. He bolted up and gripped his gun, aiming at them. His grip was shaky, and both spotted it, each one gaining speed.

"St- STAY BACK!" The blue began firing a barrage of bullets at the two, aiming miserably. They got within 10 feet of the cop before he was pushed to the edge. The cop dropped his gun and bolted for his car, avoiding them like the plague.

The other car had two cops in it, each one reluctant to get out. The passenger side door began to open, and in what had to be a miracle, another Runner appeared, slamming the door back closed, the window shattering as the officer's head smashed through it. The cop in the driver was like a deer in the headlights. None of these officers were experienced in dealing with Runners. They were still influenced by the media's portrayal of them being dangerous. It was the PK security they had to worry about.

Noah and Alec stopped by the door to get a better look at their savior. "Ariz!" Alec called out. She glared at him, as if to say shut up I'm working.

Ariz tugged the limp officer from the door and grabbed his gun, aiming it at the cop. "If anyone asks, we all went that way." Ariz said, her aim calm and steady. The cop in the front seat nodded. "You two. Follow. Keep up if you can." Ariz slipped the gun into her strap and turned the corner, running off, her footsteps heard as she began to run off. People on the other side of the street stared and watched the scene fold out. It was rare for them to see something so exciting in their boring life.

Noah seemed hesitant, but Alec nodded to him. "It's okay, I know her." He assured him, starting to jog to keep up with the girl. Noah followed behind, like a lost puppy. He'd have to ask what was causing him to act like this. It seemed like all he knew about Noah had been abandoned in this one moment.

The three ran along the streets for a while before making a sharp turn down an ally. "Down here!" Ariz called out, her head poking out of the whole of a man hole. The cover was on laying on the ground next to it. Alec dropped in, grabbing the ladder on the side and making his way down. He looked up and saw Noah pulling the cover back over them.

When the three reached the bottom, Ariz pulled out a flashlight and illuminated the way. A couple rats scurried, scattering and running, every rat for itself. The pipe they were in seemed to be out of service, as was much of the infrastructure in this city.

"So nice of you to show up and lead us into this… sewer." Noah commented, following behind Alec. While it wasn't in use, it certainly still had a sewage smell. The floor was coated with a thick layer of brown goop made up of who knows what, and while it was dry it certainly didn't smell good. The walls of the concrete pipe were gray and dirtied, with cracks and weeds growing in the cracks.

They walked down the wide pipe , every once in a while coming across a split path. Ariz seemed to know the tunnels by heart, as she didn't faulter when faced with a choice of paths. They seemed to be going somewhere; that or they were walking without a destination.

"Where are you taking us?" Noah had the nerve to ask in place of Alec.

"Stop complaining. Your lucky I decided to save you. I was only told to save Alec." She said harshly. She obviously wasn't in a playful mood right now.

As she finished speaking, the approached what seemed to be a light. Ariz turned off her flash light and followed the light. They came to an old platform, doors opening up to some stairs. The source of the light came from a single lamp, hanging by a wire attached to the wall. It led to what seemed to be a generator shoved into a whole in the wall.

"Base of operations, or something?" Alec guessed.

"Spot on. This is my 'home' if you wanna call it that." She didn't seem too pleased to be showing this to random strangers. She obviously valued her privacy above all. Perhaps a loner, much like Alec was.

The three walked the short flight of stairs and were lead through another door into a rather large room, illuminated by several lights. An old looking computer was set up on the far side of the room, generating a lot of the light in the room, the screensaver visible casting changing colors around the room.

The desk the computer sat on was covered in papers, books and other odds and ends. The whole room was like that. There was a clear path through the room, and that path was surrounded with papers, little pieces of random junk, books, folders, notebooks, cameras, computer parts, old cell phones- everything you could think of. The room was filled to the brim with stuff.

"You live here, eh?" Alec said, examining a shelf with even more junk. It didn't seem like you would be able to find anything you needed in this huge pile.

"Yes, I live here. This is the only room like this though…" She said causally. "There's one more room, it's where I sleep obviously. Because I don't sleep in here." She led the two through the trashed room and through a door frame into a nearly empty room there was a bed roll on the floor, a few crates with papers sorted into stuff, and a laptop was sitting closed on top of a pile of more blankets.

There was an inset in the wall opposite the door, a closet without a door it seemed. It had shelves holding at least 50 different runner bags. There were sticky notes on each bag, probably describing what to do with the bag, or maybe the clients' names. Alec had no clue how the system worked.

Noah stood behind Alec, still shaking visibly. "Ariz… right? Well how about you tell me what's going on!" He demanded, taking on a strong tone that betrayed his frightened look.

"No. You think you're all that, that this is actually something to do with you. It's not. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, in fact you could leave now and the Blues probably wouldn't do a thing if they saw you. They're only after Alec."

Alec's fears were confirmed. They were chasing him. He wasn't sure if he was okay with Ariz just telling Noah like that, because the look on Noah's face was so outraged it made him wonder if he might do something drastic.

"Y… you? They're after YOU, Alec?" Noah asked in disbelief. "What did you do?" He asked, suddenly staring down at his feet.

"I don't even know, Noah. They just… started trying to kill me."

"But why you! Why did they have to choose you!" He suddenly grew angered and lashed out, fist pounding into the nearby wall.

Ariz's eyes squinted. "Is there something you know about all this? Because if there is…" she pulled her gun out and aimed it at Noah, "you'd better fucking tell me." She was very serious now, sensing the turmoil and vagueness that was present in guilt.

Alec seemed even more confused than the both of them, staring at the raised gun pointed at his one and only close friend he had up here. "Ariz! If you know what's good for you, you'd put the gun down," he threatened.

"You really think you can take me on? Funny. Okay, I'll do what you say. Just as long as you can get answers out of this guy."

Noah spoke independently once the gun was lowered. "It's not what you think… This has happened before, it's just like last time!" Tears began to form under his eyes.

"Noah, take a deep breath and be less vague."

"PK, the city, they're after you. They won't stop until you… disappear." He said quietly. "They'll take you away, out of my life just like… just like…" He bit his lip and looked up. "Just like another good friend of mine." He seemed to come to the conclusion that names and descriptions weren't necessary.

"Back when I first became a runner, and I was still learning the ropes, he was there teaching me, giving me pointers. He would come during the day, while on a job, but he wouldn't stay for very long unless he was training me. Then one day, it had been a loud day. I had been shot at by the Blues, the city was on high security alert or something.

"When he showed up at my hideout, I was totally unprepared for what I saw. He had been shot, and he was limping. They had got him, and he was injured bad. It was a wonder he made it all the way here. I took him in and fixed him. He told me they were looking for him, that he couldn't stay long or he'd put us both in danger. I think… back then he knew he wouldn't make it. So he left and saved my life by drawing the blues away. I didn't see him again since that."

Ariz scoffed. "That's touching, but it really doesn't help with the current situation. Alec here is being targeted by a whole city. You have nothing to do with it. You kinda freaked us both out there with your emo cry fest. I think it'd be best if you leave this to the higher-ups. You can find a quick exit through here."

Ariz led Alec's friend to the wall and punched a certain spot. The wall shifted and slide open smoothly, revealing a long tunnel with a light at the end. Noah stared out it.

"I'm not leaving…" He said quietly.

"Yes. Yes you are. None of this concerns you. Hide out for a while until all of this is solved."

"It DOES concern me! Alec is my friend. If I leave… If I give up on him, then I won't ever see him again."

"He's not your brother, he's not a baby. He doesn't need you!" Ariz seemed to be getting rather annoyed. Alec just hung back, watching the storm clouds gather. Noah clenched his fist.

"I want to help, any way I can."

Ariz paused and it seemed she was considering it. "If you help, they'll be after you too. It will put your life in unnecessary danger. You both might die."

"I'm fine with that. We both might live too." Noah said strongly. Ariz shrugged.

"No. there's no point in it. You can't possibly help us anyway." Ariz pushed Noah out the door and began to close it before Noah turned around and jammed his feet in the way.

"Please! Let me help! ALEC! You want my help don't you!"

Alec was forced to speak, but he did so hesitantly. After a pause his voice rang out, "I don't want you getting hurt. It's for your own good. Don't worry. I won't let them get me."

"Then promise! Promise you'll come back!"

Alec swallowed and nodded his head. "I promise."

"How touching. Now MOVE." Ariz said grumpily. Noah backed away and the door swung shut, letting out a sound of finality. Alec had been resolute to do this alone. And he knew he could do this. He wouldn't let these scum get him.

Ariz sighed and turned to Alec. "So. Calc's been doing a bit of research. Still hasn't told me squat though. I guess we're both stuck down here until we find something out.

"Great. What do we do when you start starving? A fight to the death to see who gets to eat who?" He said sarcastically.

"Chillax bro, I got food right here." She walked over and opened a small fridge- the fridge was covered and hidden with junk, so Alec had missed it the first time. "Hopefully enough to last for a while."

Ariz wondered over to her desktop computer and began typing fast. Alec stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. "That's it? I'm just supposed to hide and do nothing?"

"Listen, Alec. It sucks that you got mixed up in all this, it really does. Stuff happened that was beyond your control, and it just so happened you got sucked into all of this. Neither of us can change that, and right now we're all doing what's best."

"What's best? What we're doing is hiding like cowards, locking ourselves away and hoping that someone saves us! I'm not gonna just sit by and hope I survive. I'm gonna solve this problem myself.

Ariz jumped up and shrugged. "Fine. I can show you the way out. If that's what you truly want. Of course, perhaps you'd like to take a look at this first." She moved to the side to show the screen of her computer. It was an overhead map of the city, with little dots travelling all over the places.

"These are city police troopers and cars," she explained, pointing to one kind of dot, "And these are PK SWAT helicopters, these are SWAT van units. Paddywagons, they used to call them." She pointed to a different kind of dot each time.

It looked bleak. There was a high concentration of dots centered right around where Alec suspected was the base. They were patrolling, and they weren't going to let anything pass them. "Wait… what's that one, the red one?" He asked, pointing to a fast moving dot.

"That… oooh." She grinned evily. "That's Noah. Being chased by Blues. A lot of them." She didn't seem in the least bit worried about Noah's well being.

"That's Noah! We gotta help him!"

Ariz nodded. "You know the way out. Or did you expect me to come with you? There's a lot of things I am, Alec: Sassy, bitchy, sexy- but retarded isn't one of them. You expect me to throw myself, and yourself, at the feet of all these blues to save one insignificant spec? Noah isn't important, he's expendable. You aren't."

The words hit heavy. Alec stared down at the floor. "And if he doesn't make it?"

"If he doesn't make it… He disappears. You know what happens to the runners who get caught. Or do you?"

Alec shook his head. She seemed to know something, but he had no expectation of finding out. _Noah. You have to make it. You have to survive so I can keep my promise to you…_

"So you've made up your mind, to stay safe and not needlessly risk your life."

Alec scowled at her, turned on his heels and walked into the next room, taking a seat on the floor in a corner. "Smart move…"

The rest of the day in Ariz's base was uneventful. They avoided eachother as much as possible, their strong wills clashing too much to enjoy the other's company. Alec spent most of the day in front of Ariz's computer, tracking the Blues and a couple runners he had come across. It wasn't many, and he figured most weren't moving around too much.

He hadn't seen Noah since he stormed out of the room, and it was worrying him. "Ariz." Alec called out, not looking away from the computer.

"Waddya want?"

"If Noah was captured… would we be able to find out?" He asked curiously.

"Nope. That's why we say they Disappear. Their signal is completely lost. No one knows where captured runners are taken to, even with such advanced technology like this." She sounded solemn. They both had a good idea that Noah had been captured by PK. Ariz realized how painful it was for Alec, so she hadn't said anything too hurtful.

"He's gone, isn't he." Ariz only nodded in response.

"Probably." Ariz left the room quietly, allowing Alec some privacy.

Alec sat in the sewers, bathed by the pale light from the lamp. He had left the house and walked down the stairs, hoping to get some fresh air; all he could was musty, stagnant air and the urge to puke. Yet he couldn't find it in himself to get up and walk back to the house.

He was enjoying lazing around. He was always on the move on the surface, and it was nice to have a break for a little while Although he could feel that this feeling would soon turn to dread, the need to stretch his legs, to feel weightless as he jumped from building to building. For now, though, he could wait down here.

He tensed and prepared to bolt for the door when he heard pattering footsteps echo through the wide pipes. After listening for a second, it seemed they belonged to an animal. He relaxed once he spotted the glowing eyes in the distance, illuminated by the lamp behind him.

It was a dog, Alec noticed, as it walked up to him. The dog approached cautiously, nose stuck out and sniffing for the human's scent. After a few seconds it got within reach and allowed Alec to pet it.

Alec had always been fond of dogs for some reason. "Hey little fella…" He said sweetly, scratching behind its ear. "What are you doing down here?"

He didn't get an answer, obviously, but the dog did begin to wag its tail happily. Alec continued to pet it for a while before it barked cheerfully and hopped up into Alec's lap. He didn't care that the thing probably had fleas or some sort of infection- he continued to pet is matted fur.

"Are you hiding too? Did you loose a friend, someone close to you? Came looking for someone else?" He knew the dog would never respond, but venting these things was necessary. He didn't feel comfortable doing it to another human, so validating his emotions to the dog made him feel slightly better.

The puppy barked again and nuzzled into Alec's hand as he continued to pet it. Dogs were the only innocent creatures left in this city. They couldn't be corrupted like the empty shells that were their masters- they remained true to themselves only, even if it got them killed. And it usually did.

The cats had all died long ago, it was a wonder Dogs were still around. Cats going extinct normally would've caused an outrage, back in the day. But the city was somehow able to monitor the information, hide the stuff they didn't want the populous to see in just a way that allowed them to manipulate every single citizen in the city.

Alec could hear Ariz approaching, and so could the little dog. The dog suddenly began barking loudly, the hair on it's neck standing up. It barked a couple times before running off down the pipe.

"Not good with animals, I see." Alec said, sensing Ariz standing behind him.

"Ya know… he could still be out there, or if he was captured, he might escape."

Alec snorted. "Like that'd ever happen. I've already accepted it. He's gone. My only friend, my best friend, is gone forever." Saying the words out loud like that seemed to finalize it, and Alec was suddenly over come with a deep urge of hatred and sadness rising up in him, hate towards the government who forced them to do this, sadness at the loss of his friend. None of it mattered any more.

The city no longer gave him the pleasure it had but mere days ago. He rememberd the race in which Noah had totally clobbered him, how happy they had both been. How can something so perfect be crushed in a matter of seconds? It didn't seem right… to just go down like that without a fight.

Why hadn't they fought for it? Why were they just sitting back and let the City run things? Alec clenched his fist. "We're gonna solve this, right?"

"Calc's working on it."

"What is he working? A way to save my ass? Or a way to prevent this from happening again. We need to focus on the bigger picture. What we stand for, the Runners- if we didn't exist the city would be a much better place to live! Without a need for us, people could go back to a better time- technological advances could once again be used to further society instead of used to control it- Isn't that what the Runners' job is! To restore peace to the city, one bit at a time?"

"It doesn't work like that, and you know it. There's nothing we can do about it…"

Alec chuckled. "You're right. What was I thinking. Silly me." He stood and walked back up the stairs, grabbing the blankets and forming a make-shift bed. He plopped himself down and stared at they plain white concrete ceiling. Up there, people lived on as if nothing had happened. They were blinded and happy to be. If their eyes were open to the chaos around the… Alec sighed, rolling over and forcing his eyes closed.

Nothing he could do about anything, right? Might as well sit back and enjoy the ride. Ariz stood in the door way. "You choose this life, right? If you can't stand by your decision, what kind of example are you setting?"

Those simple words cut deep. She was right, it was his choice to live this way, and if he couldn't handle the consequences that came with it, he had no right living this way. He had always just assumed that there were no consequences, that life would continue to be as it was- perfect and just right for him.

But how could he live perfectly in this city, when everything was out to get him. He realized now that it wasn't about living anymore. He had to do something. He couldn't just stand by and let everyone be blinded- he had to do something about it.

And there's where his conflict lay. He couldn't do anything about it- This city had brainwashed the populous into believing that the Runners were terrible, and that listening to them would bring death and destruction. When it came down to it, that's what would happen.

If everyone listened to what the Runners had to say, they might realize that this government was something that needed to be destroyed. But was the government doing it's job too well? It seemed that way. No matter what Alec thought of, it seemed they had it covered.

Ariz had left Alec to mope around. He recalled his previous life, as he liked to say. Back when he was one of them. He remembered his goal, to not stand by idly while people were bullied. He was the schoolyard hero, standing up for all the victims, even when they weren't fully aware of it.

But this wasn't school. This wasn't as simple as confronting a bully, or telling an adult. The adults were in charge- no, they were the bullies. When you can't run to the adults, what do you do? When the people who are supposed to be helping you turn on you, where do you turn?

Alec realized that there was no one he could turn to. He realized that if he wanted reform, he was going to have to do it himself.

That night, while Ariz was sleeping, Alec quietly left the room, walking out the doors and down the stairs into the sewer. The light had been dimmed, and it took a while for his eyes to adjust to the pitch black. When he could see again, he could make out a faint form laying by the generator for warmth.

"You again?" He whispered. Sound travelled easily through the curved pipes. He hoped the dog didn't bark when it woke up. It didn't, Alec realized happily. It simply stood and wagged its little tail, walking up and licking the hem of Alec's pants.

Alec wished he could take this dog with him. He wished to have some sort of companion, but he had already resolved to do this by himself. He had to leave the dog behind.

"Stay! Good boy!" He said cheerily. He looked towards the stairwell and shoved the dog in there. "Sorry, boy." Alec seemed a little upset at locking him in the stairwell, but he had to do what he had to do, right?

He closed the door and walked away, ignoring the quiet whines that came to him through the muffled door. He couldn't help it, having the dog follow would make it harder for him to do what he had to do, and he was sure the stray would follow him.

Alec hopped off the small ledge and began running swiftly through the pipes, on the hardened soil that made the sewers feel more like curved tunnels. He wasn't sure where he'd come out, not having lived his life in the sewers.

He could faintly see the glow of the city, the artificial lighting that only a billion fluorescent lights shining through windows and street lights reflecting by the smog and pollution could achieve. He neared the exit and looked around.

He was in a downward sloping old drainage system. He suspecting if he had taken the downward-heading fork a while back he would wind up being dumped into the ocean. He mused to himself about it being illegal to dump trash in the ocean, but then realized that was only an insult to himself.

Alec rushed up the ditch, and his vision peered over the top of the hill. He was looking at an old looking road, in poor condition yet it seemed it was rarely taken. A lot of the infrastructure from the old city remained, before realizing that controlling the flow of traffic with a series of one way streets worked much better in reducing traffic incidents.

This was a two way street, so he figured it must be blocked off. It was surrounded by yards and yards of dirt, what Alec assumed used to be a forest. It was now nothing but brown, dried up dirt. He must be in the slums of the town, he figured.

He scrambled over the meager barrier separating the road from the ditch he had just crawled out of, ran across the street and hopped up onto a building that had windows boarded up. It wasn't very tall, but even from the vantage he could tell he was quite a ways out of the main city. Even here the city had influences. It seemed an eyesore from here, on the outside looking in. Or maybe he was just biased.

Just then a bright beam of light rounded the corner. It seemed this road wasn't entirely out of service. His feet took control and pushed him forward, jumping off the building and rolling into the shadows a couple of small home-like buildings created. The car rolled by slowly, as if maybe the occupants were lost.

It didn't notice him, thank god, and kept driving. As Alec began to run through backyards and over fences, ducking out of the way of windows with lights on them and avoiding animals, he had but one goal in his mind. As he made his way to the heart of the city, he only had one thing he was planning on doing.

Save Noah.

Chapter 4

The November Riots. It hadn't started with the November riots- that's what ended it. Ended the rebellion anyway. It was the turning point in Alec's life. It was the day he had run away. Amongst all the confusion, his parents lost sight of him, and Alec had made a break for it.

Before that, his parents had always seemed to be at the head of every protest. They had started as that, protests not intended to turn violent. They had started once the changes started. Alec, back then, hadn't understood why it was a bad thing.

They had been helping after all. All the city did was to benefit mankind in some way. They had ridded the city of many causes of obeseity, effectively wiping it was rare now to find someone who was obese. Along with that was smoking, drugs, diseases, debt- the government began to rectify these situations one by one.

The protesters had saw this for what it was, recognizing that the Government was overstepping its power, and holding too much control over the people. They might have fixed it, if it weren't for the November Riots.

Even now, people who witnessed it weren't sure how it panned out; who was the first to attack, were innocents killed- no one knew the grisly details of the Riots. All they knew was that many died, from both sides.

And the riots had given a bad name to the protesters. Perhaps the City protection forces that day had known that, perhaps PK and it's small grip on the city's security back then had known that if they attacked, they would essentially control everything.

It wasnothing but speculation at this point, however. What was done was done, nothing would change that. While the protesters defended their rights, Alec had escaped. He was young, but he was old enough to know when he had enough.

Running across the buildings tonight, making his way to taller and talelr buildings in his trek to rescue his friend, he wondered if maybe he had made the wrong decision all those years ago.

After running he had taken to the alleys. They offered refuge as the cops quietly patrolled for the missing kid. A couple days after running away, the cops stopped looking. They were just patrolling from then on. Alec hadn't realized, of course. He figured his parents would keep looking.

He would wait in alley ways, behind a dumpster and in the shadows. Sometimes restaurants would come out and dump scraps in the dumpster. Alec was desperate enough to accept these meager and slightly disgusting scraps, eating out of the dumpster.

Living in the ally ways had been a new view on life, a different view of the city's pristine exterior he had grown up with. He was now living among the inner workings of the city. He recalled a recent subject in history he had been studying, the Gilded Age.

They hadn't mentioned that they were in a second gilded age, but Alec made the connection now that he was inside the city. He was inside, an informed observer, and the inner workings of the city were not as gold and clean as they were on the outside.

Living in the alley ways had prepped him for what he planned to do. He had sometimes needed to make quick escapes from CPFs or curious citizens, so had developed a way to quickly climb over walls that he was proud of.

Of course, it was amateur. The training he received later far surpassed these skills, but learning then prepared him much better for training. He can't quite recall when he had joined up with the Runners. He supposed it started with the first time he saw one.

He had been hungry that day, and his stomach kept rumbling to remind him of this. He was sitting between two dark buildings, and the stench of urine couldn't be ridded from his nose.

He hadn't expected anyone to show up down here, so when he spotted the colorfully dressed woman, tattoos covering her right arm and an orange bag strung across her shoulder, he had been captivated.

The way she dressed, with bright colors and eccentric simplicity seemed to scream rebel, for those colors defied all the city tried to display- normalcy, cleanliness, conformity and obedience. This girl was different. She stuck out.

Her shoes were bright red, as were her gloves. She wore white, dirties pants and a black tank top. Her face was ordained with a star tattoo under her eye.

"Hey, Kid." She had said roughly.

Alec had jumped then, looking up with scared eyes. Was she going to turn him in? Was he wrong about her?

Alec stammered for a short second before jumping to his feet and answering. "What?"

The girl had smiled kindly, reassuring him a bit.

"You didn't see me, okay? If you promise not to tell anyone, I'll give you something you really want, but don't know you want. Kay?"

Alec couldn't help but trust the sweetness in her voice. He knew what she was now. She wasn't anything like they had been talking about. Everyone said Runners were violent and just wanted to kill people. Maybe she wasn't a real runner…

No, there was no doubt about it. He nodded quickly and the girl smiled. "Thanks. Meet me here again tonight and I'll give you your reward."

With that, the strange girl took off running again, easily hopping over the wall Alec had struggled with. He was impressed to say the least, and stood staring dumbly at the wall for a while before he heard pounding footsteps.

"Down here!" A voice shouted. "There's someone there!" Alec turned to see a swarm of PK SWAT running, blocking off the exit to the alley. "Don't move!" The officer screamed out.

Alec was frozen. They were going to take away, back to his parents… They swarmed him. He couldn't have gotten away if he wanted to.

"Is he a runner?"

"No, can't be. He's just a kid!"

"Hey little boy. Did you see a strange looking girl running by here?"

Alec looked around with scared eyes. He was emaciated from hunger and he was feeling light headed. Strange girl… these cops were looking for that girl.

What did she say, he hadn't seen her? He could one up that. He nodded and lifted his hand.

"She uh… she ran that way." He pointed out the alley, in the opposite direction the girl had taken. They didn't give him a second thought. They left him there, in the alley while they pursued their wild goose.

Later that day, long after the sun had set, Alec stood in the alley, shivering and slightly worried. MMaybe she might not show up. He had been tricked with kindness, and while she escaped from the cops he got nothing in return.

He was about to turn and leave the alley when he saw a shadow move in the darkness. The shadow walked into the small amount of light- it was her. She really had shown up.

"Hey. Thanks for what you did earlier today."

Alec just nodded, waiting for his reward. He hoped it was money, so he could buy real food for once.

"You want money don't you." She asked bluntly. "Well I'm sorry, but I'm kinda strapped for cash myself. I can't give you the fish, but I can teach you how to fish." She tossed a piece of paper towards him. "Read it, follow the instructions, and you'll find an entirely different way to live your life."

With that the girl had left quickly. Alec observed the way she climbed over the wall and committed it to memory, vowing to master that for himself. He looked at the paper and snorted. It was too philosophical for him- it seemed like she had cheaped out on his reward. Maybe he should have turned her in after all.

After steaming down, he unfolded the wrinkled paper and read what was written on it. "Join the runners…" He snorted. That was it? She wanted him to join the runners?

Would have been so much easier if it had actual instructions on it. He tossed the paper over his shoulder without a second thought. But the idea stayed in his head for 2 years.

Two years later, he found himself running away from a couple of low rank CPF wielding batons. They had caught him sleeping in a street and had instantly set chase without waiting for an answer or excuse.

He had been forced out of his sleep, and with groggy annoyance he had lashed out at one of them. In hindsight, he probably would've been locked up even if he hadn't. That act just gave them even more cause to want to do it.

After realize what he had done he had run like hell. He had been running down on the streets, and realized he wasn't going to loose them if he stayed down here. He could make his way to an alley- but they'd just follow him and call for back up.

The thought popped into his head suddenly. He could try escaping to the roof of a building. The predicament of how never crossed his mind. He recalled that day two years ago, watching the women move fluently up the building, using windows ledges and pipes. Could he do that?

He figured out that no, he could not do it as fluently as that girl had. He turned down an alley and jumped up, gripping onto the high ladder that led to a fire escape. His hands nearly slipped, and he had a hard time pulling himself up the ladder without rungs under his feet.

The cops fast approaching was enough motivation, however, to make him continue, despite the pain in both his arms. He finally got his feet on the ladder and ran up quickly, just as the guards stopped right under the ladder.

They were short, and unable to reach it. And thank god for Alec that the fire escape led directly to the building's roof.

Once he was up there, his breath was taken away. It was a spectacular view, for him. The crystal white of the concrete reflecting the sun's rays, the stark contrasting colors that signified importance- reds, oranges, and blues. It was all so amazing. It really was a true, physical Gilded Age.

The runners had noticed him only 2 days after he had taken to the roofs. This was what made Alec think they had everything monitored, at least on the roofs. He was approached one day by a fellow runner, who tested him essentially.

The man told him to keep up, and Alec did. He had been weak from hunger then, and it was hard for him to keep up with the man. Especially when the runner was skilled in parkour, and he wasn't.

He had watched the man intently, mirroring his actions to the best of his ability. Thinking back now, he realized he probably put on a horrible. The only thing that got him in was likely his fearlessness, his ability to do anything without fear of consequence.

Even when it came to jumping the gap between two buildings. The man had done it gracefully, landing with little impact and rolling over his shoulder. Then he had turned around to watch Alec's actions.

Half expecting the man not to do anything, he was surprised when he saw the man running at full speed, into a carefully calculated leap, then an unsteady fall into a hard thudding landing. Alec had landed on his feet, but feel straight to his knees.

He twisted an ankle and got several scrapes, then a busted lip as he fell face first into the concrete. The man had laughed then, stating "You got guts, kid. I really think you have what it takes to join us, with a little training any way!"

Alec had grumbled, wiping the blood from his chin on his arm. The man lead him to a sort of base, where he was filled in on what they were all about, what was expected of him, and what would happen if he didn't do his job right.

They weren't going to punish him, oh no. If he wasn't perfect with his job- if he slipped up... He'd pay for it by Disappearing. They had said this was a lifetime commited, that there was no turning back. That hadn't scared off Alec.

He had gladly accepted the mark of the runner, choosing and designing his own tattoo and everything. It had been a rite of passage for him, one he never got to experience as a child. He felt kind of good, being part of something larger.

They assigned him a trainer then, and he was told to call him Noah. Through intense hours of training in both parkour and combat skills, Alec had grown attached to the man. He found out they were the same age, Alec being merely 3 months older.

Noah had been born into the business, he said. They had just finished training, and Alec had delivered a vicious punch to Noah's face, leaving him with a black eye. Noah congratulated him, the freak.

They were sitting on the edge of a building, watching the city and all it's citizens move and live. Alec had been wondering why, even though Noah was not much older than him, he was so much better, and ranked higher.

"Born into it, man. Haven't know a life other than this. Started training at 8 years."

Alec cocked his head. "So your mother was a runner?"

"Yup. She was a runner for a long time. Then she got pregnant with me. She very well couldn't run with me, so she became a Tracker."

"Tracker?" Alec asked, still new to the terminology.

"Yeah, the people on top get trackers. Third Tier, mostly. Trackers get all these computers, and they don't do any running either. They just sit around and tell the runners what to do, warn them about police. They're tapped into the wires the Blues use, and the PK scum, they don't even know!"

Alec chuckled. "Wait- so your mother got pregnant, right? Who was the dad?"

Noah looked away. "That's not something I wanna talk about, Alec."

Alec nodded, sensing the man's sudden mood swing at the mention of his father. Must still be a sour memory. "Right... and what about your mother? Is she still a tracker?"

Noah snarled. "Just stop prying, alright! Mind your own business, dammit!" Noah stood and walked off. "We're done for the day. You'll be getting your first job in the morning. Better get some sleep."

The modd change confused Alec. Noah was always so joyful and happy, calmest and funniest person ever. To see him get angry and storm off was an odd site.

Alec hadn't brought up Noah's parents since then. However, ever since that day, the mystery remained fresh in his mind. He would find the solution to the mystery one of these days, he swore it.

If Noah died, the solution died with him. He wouldn't let that happen. He was about to find out once and for all what happened when Runners "disappeared" once and for all.

The city at night was just as breathtaking as at day. The bright neon lights washed its sterile whiteness over the city. Neon lamps gave the impression of modernizing. The technology was old, though. And nothing in this city could be old. They weren't real neon, as they used to be. It was replicated to the best of their ability, with even more harmful chemicals. In a way, it looked better. Made the city more pretty at night.

Despite weather control, the city could not control the sun. But even after the sun had sunken long ago, the city remained full of life. Cars still traveled, probably even more so than during the day. People still bustled along the road, making their way to their night shift jobs.

Because the night life was so active, the city had done its job to make it seem like day, even though there was no natural light to speak of. The bright glow of the lights bathed every inch of the city and its pedestrians, bright enough to trick them into thinking it was still day. The light stopped at the street though, darkness enveloping the upper parts of the city.

That was why most houses and homes these days were nestled high up in the city, or in sky scrapers. No one was getting any sleep with the bright glow from the streets, their bodies still thought it was day.

So the roofs were bathed in a darkness that Alec found relaxing, natural darkness the hid his movements, his him. He couldn't be found up here. At night, he could be alone, nothing to bother him.

However, these trips across the rooftops were not filled with the same luxury as the other night rounds. His objective filled his head, occupied his every thought. His eye was caught by the lit up spinning logo of his destination. Two brightly colored letters that stood for the root of every single problem left in this city.

"PK..."

Chapter 5

Alec ran through the shadows the buildings created, all the while he was planning out his course of action, thinking about every possible problem and all the solutions. If he wanted to get out of this alive, he was going to have to think first. He couldn't just dive head first into things.

He faced very little opposition in his journey there, thank god. If he was worn out just from the journey he might have to wait, and if he waited too long the sun would come up.

Alec leaped from the ground, his feet connecting with the fence. It swayed a little as he gripped the top and pulled his legs up to get them over the fence. He grimaced at the landing, cursing himself for making a stupid mistake like that. It wasn't too bad, just send a nasty shock up his leg.

He kept running through the corridor-like place he was in, created by two walls on either side of him. It must have been some sort of maintenance hallway on the roofs or something. Soon he came to a low fence that blocked the way, and for a good reason.

The building stopped there, overlooking the very place he was headed. Alec looked up to spot the spinning letters and took in a some what shaky breath. He wondered what Ariz was doing right now. Had she found out he was missing yet?

He shook that off. No matter what happened now, nothing would stop him from going into the headquarters.

The walls were a bit too tall to climb, and the actual roof of the PK office was too high and on top of that was across a gap. Alec scoffed. It coouldn't ever be easy, could it?

He hopped up onto the rail, his shoes allowing his feet to curl over the small amount he had to stand on for balance. He was a good half way up the wall now, and he figured if he could get a good enough push off, he would be able to grab onto the edge of the wall.

He turned to his left and bent his knees, steadying himself. Once he was completely still and perfectly balanced, he pushed and forward, his arms outstretched. He felt the edge of the building and gripped onto it, at the same time his feet connected with the concrete wall.

He used the traction his feet created along with the muscles in his wall to pull himself up to the top of the building. After standing up, his got a chance to look around. There was a door in the building opposite PK. He looked up. The roof of that building conveniently made an L shape straight to the edge of PK.

He hoped the occupants of the building wouldn't mind his intrusion. Alec rushed to the door, jiggling the handle. Of course it was locked. Alec cursed and got on his knees, reaching into his pocket to grab a lock pick.

On normal occasions, he would have just kicked the door down. But seeing as he was close to the PK building, this didn't seem a good idea. The noise might alert anyone gaurding the roof, or someone nearby.

He inserted the pick into the lock and jiggled around with it, feeling the tumblers fall into place one by one until there was one final click. He grinned at his skill, pulled the pick out, and noticed its damage, tossing it over his shoulder before opening the door quietly.

He looked around. He was in a long hallway, lighted by the 'neon' lights that were everywhere in the city. The walls were concrete and white, with bright lime green paint on the lower half. Typical modern style for a typical modern apartment building. That was good news for him- the occupants were most likely dozing.

Alec ran through the bright corridors, passing tons of apartment doors on his long trip through the hall. He slowed to turn around a corner and was faced with an elevator. He almost pushed the button when he saw that the Elevator was key accessed.

He grumbled, realizing he'd have to take the stairs. He backtracked until he saw the bright red fire exit door. Instead of using it to run down stairs for a quick exit, he began running up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

Eight floors later, he had reached the top. He was panting heavily, not used to running up stairs like that. It drained his high endurance rather quickly. He took a moment at the top to catch his breath. Alec gripped the rail and looked between the set of half-stairs all the way to the bottom.

It was fascinating, for some strange reason, to see how far it went down. It was different from staring straight down to the street, like he did every day. There was the same image repeated infinitely, or so it seemed. As far down as he could see, the same set of stairs repeating over and over, getting smaller as they went down.

He shook his head, ashamed for getting hypnotized by the stairs. He had to save Noah, no time to wait around. He was about to reach for the handle that led to the roof of the building when his head was suddenly swimming with pain. There was an intense screeching, and then suddenly the sound of an annoying woman screaming in his ear.

"What the hell were you thinking! There are blues everywhere, you're going to die! They're going to kill you without a second regret! Are you retarded!" Alec winced, pulling the ear piece out of his ear, rubbing the temples of his head. "Ariz? I have to do this... don't try to stop me."

Now angered and with a splitting headache, he growled, dropping the ear piece to the ground and stepping on it, crushing it with the bottom of his heel. They knew where he was... He hadn't counted on this. What would they do, though? Try and stop him?

He shrugged, turning the handle to the door and looking around. The roof he was on was covered in darkness. There was a large building that blocked out what little light existed up here. It would be a good spot to scope out his next target.

He crept out from behind the bilboard and looked towards the roof of PK Security. It had several sentries, all alert and at guard. They were equipped with some sort of powerful looking gun that had a red laser attached, allowing them to easily aim for their target.

This wasn't going to be easy, or pretty. The roof wasn't all that big, and there were at least thirteen guards, placed strategically to allow not a single discrepancy. It would be next to impossible to get inside the building with all these guards.

He figured once he got in, it wouldn't get much better. He had to think about this carefully, plan it out. He could take them out, one by one. Although that would take way too long, and the other guards would be alert only after one of them was taken down.

He could use their own weapons against them... That seemed fullproof. Clear out the few that he needed to get through, to the door he could plainly see, then make a run for it. He would start with the closest one first.

He got a running start, and then jumped towards the roof, landing mere centimeters behind the man. It was a good thing they hadn't set up twice as many PK to watch the already guarding Pks, which left this man wide open to attack.

Alec struck quickly, gripping the man's head and twisting it, snapping his neck. Without much ruckus, noise or alert, Alec had painlessly assassinated the man. He felt bad for him. Almost.

He then gripped the gun and turned off the laser pointer, figuring it would give him away. Then he quickly returned to his cover on the other building.

He readied the sniper rifle, picking out the guards he could take out in quick succession. He fired his first shot. The bang rang out across the roof tops, the towers surrounding them compounding the noise and amplifying it back at them.

Every guard on the roofs looked around hurriedly, trying see who had fired the shot, looking for a chance to shoo the escapee themselves. It got boring up there anyway.

Thanks to their confusion, Alec was able to get in 3 more killing shots before one of them realized someone was shooting at them. They couldn't tell where from though.

Alec over estimated the concealment of the darkness he was in. They couldn't spot him at all. He took out a 2 more people. The only guards left were the seven on the far end of the building. He was going to take them out for extra caution, but the trigger clicked uselessly, out of ammo.

Alec tossed the gun and abandoned his hiding spot, realizing there would soon be swarms of PK up here, helicopters, Blues, everything.

So he ran, jumping towards the building, landing next to the man he had taken out. They hadn't even noticed this one was missing. They got lazy with their job, thank god.

"There! SHOOT SHOOT!" The nearest PK pointed to the figure suddenly running across the roof. Alec cursed. The door was plenty ways away, and he was fully out in the open, totally vulnerable.

What if the door was locked? His mouth was pulled into a vicious snarl at overlooking that detail. If that door didn't open, what would he do? He didn't have time to think this out, he had to decide quickly when it happened, if it happened, or they would get him.

Alec ran faster. He heard the sound of a bullet being shot from the gun, pushing on faster. He almost expected to feel the pain of the bullet, thankful when the sound had died and he hadn't felt anything.

The door was within reach now, and Alec slowed down enough to be able to stop right at the door. His hand reached for the handle hoping to god it would open. He turned it and felt the horrifying jolt of a handle refusing to turn.

He cursed loudly and then had to make a quick decision. The only cover to be found was towards the snipers set up around the roof. He was ready to bolt when suddenly the door he was standing in swung open.

Alec stood behind the door, using it as a shield from the snipers. He heard the foot steps of a man running out the door. Spinning from his spot, he flew a punch towards the cop's face. It connected painfully, and the cop fell. He looked down the stair, thankful to see there wasn't any backup coming.

He rushed into the stair way, closing the door behind him. He practically jumped down each set of stairs, running quickly. It was a big open stair way that spiraled around on itself, going ever downward.

He heard the loud shuffling of SWAT rushing up the stairs, and realized he should have expected the bullets to start flying. When he heard the sound of rapid firing, he ducked his head, still running on down. The SWAT stopped to reload, fumbling with his bullets and dropping them.

Alec reached him then, and with a quick punch startled the man. He was in the heat of the moment, fueled by anger and adrenaline. He shoved the man sideways, flipping him over the rail and tumbling down the stairs. Alec heard the thud as he hit the railing below him, then the sudden yelp of another man.

The falling body had managed to land on another, knocking him out. Alec grinned at that stroke of luck, jumping over the disabled men and hurrying on. Bullets continued to ring out in the enclosed space. Alec could see he was getting close to the bottom.

He came across another fellow who seemed to be terrified out of his mind. First day on the job? Sucked for him. Alec approached quickly, suddenly making a leap. The man pulled the trigger, firing bullets blindly. All of them missed, and Alec fell head first into the man, knocking them both down a set of stairs. Alec took no time in recovering, burying his boot into the man's face.

He grabbed the gun on instinct, running the last of the stairs quickly. When he reached the bottom he was confronted with a group of 4 SWAT. His aim was precise and steady, despite his confrontation. He dropped them quickly, even as they fired at him, failing to hit.

Once the firing had stopped, he checked himself over. Unharmed. Wasn't he the luckiest bastard on the face of the earth? His ears rang from the constant sound, and he was unable to hear the sound of the alarms ringing throughout the compound. He heard them slightly, but paid them no heed.

He had no clue that now ever single unit in the main office was mobilized, and out on a mission to kill him. He didn't realize that while the alarms rang and Alec moved slowly deeper into the compound that they were preparing for his arrival.

They weren't going to just give up to some runner, despite his apparent skills. They were going to take this man down. And there was no doubt about that. Alec was going up against an entire army after all.

When there were no wars, the military still had a job to do- their job was 'civil protection' and they did it quite admiraly. And despite the courageous fight Alec put up, managing to take down several of them all on his own, he would prove no match for them.

It happened quickly. Alec hadn't even noticed the man approaching him from behind. He had noticed however the sudden blow to his head, and he felt his knees hit the hard floor, before everything swimming into blackness, and loosing consciousness entirely.

That's all it took, was one mistake. One mistake, and you would disappear for good.

Hour 1

Alec's eyes bolted open. He tried to get up from wherever he was, only to find he was unable to. He looked around, seing nothing but darkness all around him. He was sitting in a chair... tied up... and there was a pool of light around him.

Everything else was pitch black, except for- He looked up to spot a single square of bright light. He was staring up at a window of sorts, one that looked over a single line of red paint on a white wall.

As he turned his head to the sides to try to spot anything else, he felt his head pound with pain. The blow had left him with a monster headache. He felt like his head was going to explode.

He let out a pathetic moan as he continued to struggle with his bindings. He was screwed, he knew it. Was this what happened when the Runners disappear? They sit you in a chair and turn all the lights off except one, put you on display and watch you while you die a slow, painful death of stravation?

He shook his head, ignoring the pain. Why hadn't he realized this wouldn't wind up working? He should have listened to Ariz. Or at least kept the ear piece in his ear. Then he'd have some way of communicating.

He looked straight up into the single light bulb, allowing the bright light to blind him. He was probably going to die here, he mused. Hell, at least he hadn't been shot to death. But was this really the way he wanted to go, if he had to go at all?

He realized, no it wasn't. It would have been better to die in a blaze of glory and gunfire, shot seven times but still moving on, when finally he fell with a single bullet to his head, taking hundreds with him. He did not want to go slowly starving to death, while sick and twisted people watched for their amusement.

He wondered if Noah was suffering the same fate. Maybe, next door to him, Noah was in there right now, trying to doze off in the uncomfortable chair he was placed in. He contemplated yelling to him, but then realized he was jumping to conclusions too quickly.

He didn't know anything about this place. Maybe this was just a holding cell until they took him to the real torture. Would it be worse than this? Maybe it would be more humiliating. What could be more demeaning than this? Maybe they would kill him there.

Or maybe he was right about it. Maybe he would die slowly in here. Despite his obvious predicament, however, he was still obsessing over Noah. Had these same thoughts gone through Noah's head? Where was Noah? How was he going to save Noah tied up like this?

Alec groaned out loud, the pounding in his head growing worse as time passed.

His head snapped up quickly as he thought he saw someone passing by in the window. He thought he might have seen a shadow, but when he could concentrate on it, the shadow was long gone. Or maybe it hadn't even existed.

As he sat in absolute silence, he had enough time to think about all that was happening. He was no longer on the outside- He was seeing the horrible truth about what this city was made with. And no matter how much gold coated the city, it couldn't hide how horrible this was.

Hour 2

The silence was starting to get to him. He was sure it was absolute silence, but there was that loud, horrible ringing in your ears, a sound that wasn't a sound, that no one but you could hear, yet it drove you crazy with how loud it got during the silence.

Alec would sometimes shuffle around in his seat just to make a little noise. Concentrating on the real noise made that ringing less annoying, if only for a second. At least until the silence set in again.

At least the darkness and silence was doing wonders for his headache. The position he was in was not. How long had he been sitting here? An hour? Two hours? It felt like eternity, with nothing to do, nothing to occupy him except his thoughts.

He really wished that now he had the earpiece still, at least just to have someone to talk to. Even if there was no way they would rescue him, having a friendly voice talking to him seemed like the most amazing thing in the world.

He'd even take PK scum, as long as they weren't trying to shoot at him. He let out a long sigh and hung his head. He tried to shift in the chair to find a better, more comfortable position. His neck was aching holding his head straight up like this.

The chair only went up to his mid back, and he was forced to sit up himself. He had considered trying to fall asleep, but he hadn't been able to find a comfortable enough solution.

Leaning back made the chair grind into his back, leaning forward put too much strain on his arms, which were tied behind the chair, and on his neck wich simply hung limply at an awkward angle.

He let out an annoyed growl, frustrated at how uncomfortable he was and how there was no possible way to fix it. Did they have to tie him to this chair? Couldn't they have just thrown him in the room and lock the door? Of course not, that wouldn't have the same effect as this.

Hour 3

"Alec. Alec. Alec. Alec. Alec. Alec." Alec didn't seem like his name, or like a word at all. Saying it over an over again made it seem like it was gibberish. Of course saying your own name in the first place sounded just plain weird.

Alec tried to break the silence by speaking. It got rid of that annoying ringing. His headache was dimming, thank god. But he was so BORED. There was nothing to do, nothing new to look at. Nothing had changed since he first woke up here.

How long ago was that? Had to be five hours, at the least. Felt more like 6 though. 6 Hours of doing absolutely nothing but sitting in darkness.

"Alec. Alec. Alec. Alec." His name wasn't Alec anymore. His name began to fade from him. Not forgotten, just replaced. His name didn't sound real anymore. That made him freak, so he stopped saying his name over and over.

"Water." His mouth was parched. He needed something to drink. He smacked his lips dryly, running his tongue over them. He felt them cracking from lack of moisture. This room seemed to suck up all the moisture in the air.

Hour 4

So thirsty. So, so thirsty. "Hey, PK!" He tried to shout, his voice cracking, not used to speaking so loud. "Can I get some water!" He tried to shout for help. He didn't think it would do any good, they probably weren't watching him anyway.

They were just going to leave him here to die, what did they care what he wanted. He had realized it now, he wouldn't die from starvation. He'd die from dehydration. That happened quicker any way.

It was settled. Even if they offered him water he wouldn't drink it. That way this torture would be over quicker.

Hour 5

He had to pee. Really badly. He had considered just wetting himself, but first he had considered the consequences. That was something he had a lot of time to do recently.

It would leave an awful smell, and the urine might irritate his skin. In the end, he realized he wouldn't be able to hold it in forever.

Hour 6

Urine smells really bad.

Hour 7

Someone was watching him from the window. Alec was staring back. He couldn't see much, just a silhouette of a man holding a clipboard and writing something down.

What was he writing? "hey," his voice croaked. His mouth was too dry to speak and he hadn't talked in a while. He was about to drift off into an uncomfortable unconsciousness when he saw the figure blocking out the light. "Hey. YOU! GET ME OUT OF HERE! PLEASE! HELP!"

He began to scream loud. The man heard him. He had to. He dropped his clip board and then hurried to pick it up, scribbling something down quickly before running off out of view again.

"GET BACK HERE YOU ASSHOLE! COME BACK!" He screamed and screamed and screamed until his voice grew hoarse and he couldn't scream anymore. Then he sat once again in silence. The ringing was worse after all that noise he made.

Alec sat there in silence once again. He hadn't been sitting here for hours and hours just for that. Something else was going to happen. Something big had to happen. There was no way he was waiting this long just for that.

Alec hadn't lost hope, that man watching him from the window had nearly restored all his hope. He could still rescue Noah. Almost as if he knew it was coming, Alec raised his head high.

Hour 10

They came for him some time later. Alec was practically insane from isolation. The darkness and loneliness had gotten to him. He was dehydrated so bad he felt the need to puke up whatever was in his stomach. That was unfortunately nothing, however, and he merely dry heaved as they untied his wrists.

He was too weak to fight back. They probably knew this, which is why none of them had guns. Alec was pulled roughly to his feet. He looked around at everyone swarming the small room.

The lights were on now. He could see how small the room actually was. Strange, it seemed like an endless blackness when the lights were off. Now it seemed too cramped for him.

He opened his mouth, eyes darting around nervously. Before he could ask for water he felt some trickling into his mouth. He swallowed gratefully. Why would they give him water?

He felt them pull his arms back behind him and felt the cold metal of handcuffs being slapped around his wrists. Maybe the torture was ending. They would be letting him go.

They led him out the door and through halls much like the one he could see through the window. Then into an elevator. By now he was realizing what was happening. They had taken him out of that wretched room. What were they going to do to him now?

Alec wasn't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to keep his head about him no matter what. He surveyed the people around him. Three people in lab coats. Lab coats? PK was a security business, not a lab. But, that was good, right?

The elevator stopped. They had gone up quite a bit. The three lead him out of the cramped room and into another hall, long and quiet as could be.

Alec growled viciously suddenly, and pulled his arm free of the grip they had on him. It was strange they hadn't been more prepared. Perhaps they figured him much more weak than he was.

He spun around, his leg flying up and connecting with one of the mans' ribs. He screamed in pain and fell to his knees, clutching his side. He hoped he had broken a few ribs with that kick.

The other men looked terrified. One of them sprung into action however, pulling out a small electronic device of some kind. He pushed a button on it and suddenly Alec was filled with pain. Electricity flowed through him, charging his blood and sending his body writhing and jerking with unimaginable pain.

He didn't realize it but he had fallen to the floor. Once the pain had subsided, he was left with a numbing buzz all throughout his body. The doctors picked him up once again, this time they all looked more cautious.

The one he kicked had left the group, and the one with the device had it out, ready in case Alec tried anything drastic. Of course they were more prepared. What had caused that pain though? Had they injected something into his body?

No it had to be something else. He thought back to when they had taken him out of the room, although back then his memory was blurry, clouded with insanity.

They grabbed him, made him drink some water... Was it the water? Was there something in the water? Then they had handcuffed him. It could be the handcuffs. He hoped it was the handcuffs. Those would be so much easier to remove. Or would they? He could just puke up the water, unless it was in his blood or something.

He had to think, had to escape. He was still cuffed, and couldn't do much with his hand cuffs on. He was alone, in the middle of PK Security. He had no clue how to get out of the building, and the men had some sort of device to disable him quickly, possibly even kill him if they needed.

He wondered if that was the only way to activate the electricity, or if they could do it remotely from some control room should he attempt escape. If he did try again, if he managed to get the device from the man some how and ran, how would he do it? How would he escape? They might see him as too much trouble and terminate him.

And if he did manage to get out, then what? He was still handcuffed, he couldn't run very well with these things on him. And while they remained on him, they could kill him at any moment- if it was the handcuffs that electrocuted him.

He was so confused, there were so many options. He couldn't plan his way out of this one without knowing more. There were just too many ways this could go. A tall tree with too many branches to count, too little time to find the one he needed to take to live.

The walls changed suddenly. They were no longer in


End file.
